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Combustion Test ok but still misfiring??

Discussion in 'Gen 3 Prius Care, Maintenance & Troubleshooting' started by Levi Gonzalez, Dec 17, 2021.

  1. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    Had a misfire issue. Cleaned the EGR entire assembly, manifold, MAF, replaced spark plugs, coils AND fuel injectors (all OEM).

    Was fine for the first day. Then the rough startups came back even worse.

    So I bought a combustion Kit and warmed up the engine for 5-10 minutes (I only got the coolant temperature to 140° According to the app. is that enough?) and then tested it. And it came back 100% normal.

    So I ruled out a head gasket / engine block issue.

    What could possibly be the issue!??!
     
  2. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Test doesn't work on hybrids
     
  3. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Have you checked the fuel?
     
  4. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    Are you sure? there's videos of it working on Prius'.

    What exactly do you mean?
     
  5. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    6:00 mark on his Prius, this combustion tests works and changes color to yellow.
     
  6. ASRDogman

    ASRDogman Senior Member

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    Bad fuel will cause problems. Where do you get your fuel? 7-11 stores?
    Texaco? Sunoco? ???
    You can take a glass jar and get a sample of the fuel. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
    Do you see water in it?

    Also, maybe a weak fuel pump? Have you checked the pressure, and volume?

     
  7. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    Had a bad head gasket but the test didn't work for me, a piston to the side of block was better test
     
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  8. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    I actually tried a couple different fuel stations. and on last pump, I added fuel additive. All had the exact same effect.
     
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  9. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    Good to know. For me personally, there is zero leakage of coolant...my coolant is remaining consistent.

    Is it possible to have a head gasket issue if the coolant is 100% consistent though??
     
  10. tankyuong

    tankyuong Senior Member

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    I would add an oil catch can
     
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  11. rjparker

    rjparker Tu Humilde Sirviente

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    Most normal misfire sources don't quickly stop after a coldstart. But owners often fire the parts cannon anyway. At least they know what it isn't.

    Yes it could still be a gen3 Prius hg. Early stage hg fails often leak very little, only occasionally overnight fouling a plug which causes the transaxle damper to rattle. After starting, the early stage hg fails tend to seal up quickly. As a result combustion gases are not there long enough to register.

    A borescope inspection will usually show a steam cleaned piston or you just wait until it gets worse. Then the coolant may go down a noticeable amount. Late stage fails will blow white smoke and rattle while driving after normal engine off periods like at stop lights.
     
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  12. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    so basically what you're saying is these combustion tests aren't going to work unless the seal is very bad, right?

    The only things I haven't really done for this issue is replace the fuel filter and also PVC valve. Any possible way those could be the culprit? 150k miles
     
  13. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    And yes cold starts are bad but even when the engine is really hot, at low RPMs when the engine kicks on, it sounds rough.

    I did two combustion tests. one when the engine was around 130° and another when the engine was really warmed up and primed to about 185-190°.

    I find it strange that there was not a trace of combustion gases in the coolant whatsoever.
     
  14. Mendel Leisk

    Mendel Leisk EGR Fanatic

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    That test checks for combustion gas in coolant, that's all. The 3rd gen head gasket failures tend to be coolant seeping past head gasket, into combustion chamber. Leak-down test and/or boroscope inspection will be more conclusive.

    That's getting up there.

    Was there any warning lights? If so there should be codes.
     
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  15. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    p300 and 301 303 304 at first before parts replacement and EGR cleaning. then p301 then nothing. right now no codes. but still relatively rough starts
     
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  16. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    "fire the parts cannon" and "assume it's the head gasket" are not the only two options in diagnosing a misfiring engine.

    There was a good article on some other techniques in the Second Quarter 2009 issue of Toyota Tech (starting on page 15).
     
  17. Levi Gonzalez

    Levi Gonzalez Junior Member

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    Translation?
     
  18. privilege

    privilege Active Member

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    tests that check for combustion gasses in the coolant are only one direction tests... from the combustion chamber to the coolant.

    you want to check for coolant in the combustion chamber.

    a bore scope will show you what the inside looks like. pulling the plugs might show a cleaner plug for the cylinder/s that have a leaking head gasket, but not always.
     
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  19. ChapmanF

    ChapmanF Senior Member

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    I linked to the article (that blue word 'issue'). I don't know if it began life in Japanese, but the version I linked to is English. I haven't seen it in any other language.
     
  20. Shenine

    Shenine New Member

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    literally having the same issue. Following..
     
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